Downtown Atlanta offers thousands of hotel rooms within walking distance of the aquarium for out-of-town tourists — or even suburbanites who want to spend a weekend in town seeing the sights.

Selections range from glitzy convention hotels to those offering a standard room with an urban view.

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• Georgia Aquarium page

But don't expect any package deals that include discounted tickets to the aquarium. Hospitality executives and aquarium officials still are negotiating how tickets could be sold through hotels, and there's no indication that cheaper tickets will be made available anytime soon.

Visitors can expect all the bells and whistles at several of the bigger hotels, thanks to a spree of recent renovations. For example, the Omni Hotel at CNN Center added a 28-story tower as part of a $136 million upgrade, and Westin Peachtree Plaza sank $30 million into updating rooms, restaurants and public spaces.

The average nightly rate at a downtown hotel with fewer than 500 rooms is $116.15, according to the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. The rate rises to $126.48 in the bigger hotels.

The trick to value pricing is to shop on the Internet, says Paul Breslin, managing director of Sheraton Atlanta Hotel and vice chairman of the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association. This Sheraton recently completed a $47 million upgrade.

"People will always get the best deal at the specific branded Web site," Breslin said.

The Sheraton is a perfect example of how a few dollars can be saved. In a recent check, the lowest available rate through the hotel's reservation office for a one-night stay for two adults starting Nov. 26 was $99. The hotel's Web site listed the room at $95.

Tourists also should expect to pay a tax of 15 percent on their room. That includes a sales tax of 8 percent and a hospitality tax of 7 percent. A fee for parking typically is tacked onto the bill, with rates varying among hotels.